Tomas Luis De Victoria -- An Awesome 16th Century Spanish Sacred Music Composer and Polyphonist

Today, I am focusing on a Composer who is not very well known.

He is a Spanish Composer of "Sacred Polyphony" known as 'Tomas Luis De Victoria'.

Tomas Luis De Victoria is one of my favorite composers of "Sacred Choral Music" along with Beethoven, Mozart, Palestrina, Bach, and Haydn to mention a few.

He was responsible for composing twenty masses, 44 motets, 36 hymns, 16 alternating plainsong magnificats (plus a magnificent work for two choirs, ten sublime Marian antiphons, 7 psalm settings for double choirs, 4 sequences, some pieces written to be included in the liturgy, and a body of music composed for Holy Week services).

Here is some awesome information on this Composer.

1) From: http://www.upv.es/coro/victoria/english-biografia.html

Victoria was the greatest spanish polyphonist of all times, and probably one of the best of his time in Europe. He was born in Avila around 1548, as the seventh child of Francisca Suarez de la Concha and Francisco Luis de Victoria. Although they would still have four more children, Francisco Luis de Victoria was to die when the composer was only nine years old. Around a year later he became chorister in the cathedral of Avila, where he would stay until the age of eighteen. He started here with his studies of the theory of plainsong, counterpoint and composition, and also practiced playing the keyboard. During these years he studied under the supervision of the masters Jeronimo de Espinar, Bernardino de Ribera, Juan Navarro and Hernando de Isasi. Some specialists think he may also have met Antonio de Cabezon during this time.

Once he ended his time as chorister, Victoria was sent in 1567 to the Colegium Germanicum of the Jesuit Order in Rome. He possibly studied under the supervision of Palestrina, who was chapel master and instructor of Chant and Music of the nearby Roman Seminary, (where he also met Palestrina's sons, Rodolfo and Angel). In January 1569, he left the Collegium Germanicum and, while continuing his studies, became organist and singer in the spanish chapel of Santa Maria de Monserrat, the official place of worship of the crown of Aragon in Rome. In 1571 he returned to the Collegium Germanicum where he was appointed as teacher. In this year, he also succeeded Palestrina as chapel master of the Roman Seminar, (according to Casimiri, it was Palestrina who proposed him).

Read More at: http://www.upv.es/coro/victoria/english-biografia.html

2)Listen to Victoria's Sacred Music at the following Links:

a) http://www.dovesong.com/MP3/MP3_Victoria.asp

b) http://www.upv.es/coro/victoria/mp3.html

c) http://www.tudor-consort.org.nz/concerts/ravens/victoria/requiem/17-sept-1989/index.html

P.S.- At the above link, you can listen to some Music of Victoria.

" A Group in France dedicated to Sacred Polyphony"

d) http://pythagore.asso.free.fr/extraits.htm

e) Listen to a Mass composed by Tomas Luis De Victoria and performed by a Group dedicated to "Sacred Polyphony in the United States"

http://jeff.ostrowski.cc/choirs/daugherty/index.htm

"An All Comprehensive Directory where you can listen to Music composed by Tomas Luis De Victoria and performed by several groups.

f) http://www.classiccat.net/victoria_tl_de/allmp3.htm

"Listen to an awesome and young group from Milan, Italy performing many of Victoria's Works including a couple of Masses composed by him.

g) http://digilander.libero.it/amicicantores/Saggi.html

Enjoy and give me some feedback.